Portable Self-Charging Power System via Integration of a Flexible Paper-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator and Supercapacitor

To meet the energy demand for flexible and miniaturized green electronics, it is highly desirable to develop a portable, cost-effective, lightweight, and sustainable power source through a facile and environment friendly approach. Herein, we report a portable, flexible, and low-cost self-charging power system (SCPS) consisting of a paper-based triboelectric nanogenerator (P-TENG) with high output power density as the energy harvester and a paper-based supercapacitor (P-SC) with a great areal capacitance as the energy storage device. A cellulose paper/polypyrrole composite with a low sheet resistance of 7.8 Ω sq–1 replaced the conventional metal electrodes and positive friction material in the P-TENG, as well as the capacitive material in the P-SC. The portable SCPS is capable of driving various miniaturized electronics such as a temperature/humidity indicator, thus demonstrating its potential as a sustainable power source for flexible and miniaturized green electronics.